Chapter 167
Today’s filming was scheduled to continue from morning until late dawn, and if unlucky, it might last all night.
Hollywood usually finished filming on time, except for a few exceptional situations. Like ordinary office workers, they would wrap up around 6 PM.
Today was one of those exceptional situations. We had to film in a public place with limited available time. We needed to shoot several scenes for the beginning, middle, and end of the movie within the permitted time, so the schedule was quite tight.
I had changed costumes several times, moving between present and past, and continuously performed dozens of scenes. Fortunately, in exchange for using up the entire day, we were given two days of personal maintenance time starting tomorrow. After that, only Mitchell would have solo filming for about 3-4 days in a row. It was like a long vacation for me.
I didn’t have any special plans. I was just wondering how to naturally come to the filming location and loiter around Mitchell.
“Shall we do it again?”
Although there weren’t any intense action scenes, there were quite a few scenes that involved running.
The pain in my leg that had been broken because of that bastard Yoon Inbeom came and went. Some days I could push myself hard without problems, while other days like today, the pain would suddenly appear.
“No, it’s fine. Um… this will do. But Geon-woo, are you uncomfortable somewhere? You look tired.”
“It’s just been a while since I ran. I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? Let’s take a break for now.”
“Okay.”
“Alright! Let’s move to the set and finish the rest of the filming! Have a meal and take a rest first.”
When Director McKenney spoke to the people, the assistant director standing next to him gave the exact time.
“We’ll start shooting at 8! Don’t be late!”
I got into the car, clutching my throbbing leg. After moving to the set where Logan’s house was, I immediately collapsed onto the bed in the trailer. I took a short rest, almost completely exhausted.
We somehow finished the outdoor filming, but night shooting still remained. Mitchell was scheduled to join from this shoot.
The staff offered me food, but I wanted to lie down quietly rather than eat. However, I couldn’t rest properly because of the noise made by my staff coming in and out of the trailer.
In fact, even without that noise, I wasn’t in the mood to sleep. Mitchell’s words to me yesterday kept circling in my head.
“I love you.”
Mitchell told me he loved me. He finally confessed to me.
It was the words I had been longing for, but it was a little different from what I had imagined. Of course, at that moment I felt an indescribable euphoria, but my feelings gradually changed. Moreover, I hadn’t been able to have a proper conversation with Mitchell since then.
Last night, I felt like I was swimming in a chocolate-filled pool, but when I woke up this morning, I felt like I had fallen into a dry, sandy beach. As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw Mitchell already prepared to go out.
He said he had to leave early because of an urgent matter and that he’d see me at the evening filming location. Before I could even respond, Mitchell kissed my forehead and left the house.
At least he sent messages diligently. It wasn’t that we couldn’t contact each other, so it couldn’t be considered going radio silent. But we couldn’t talk.
I realized it only now.
That confession doesn’t matter.
A single confession couldn’t change our ambiguous relationship.
We needed a deep conversation… but of all days, we had this extreme schedule of overnight filming today. There was no time to set aside for personal matters.
Moreover, Mitchell hadn’t shown up once from morning until dusk, for whatever reason. Phone connections weren’t smooth either. When I called, someone else answered instead of Mitchell. It was someone who said they were Brandon’s secretary. They said they would relay the message to Mitchell, but there was no contact after that.
I was going to meet Mitchell soon since he would be joining from the evening filming. Still, it was frustrating that I couldn’t reach him.
“Haa.”
I let out a sigh louder than I realized. Feeling embarrassed, I slightly raised my head to check people’s reactions.
“What? When did everyone leave?”
Suddenly, I was alone in the trailer. I had wished to be alone, but now that I was, I felt gloomy. On the other hand, I felt sorry for Mitchell who might be living with these feelings every hour.
Mitchell, who struggled with being alone, probably had days like this all the time, right?
I tried to close my eyes for a moment in the silence. I thought about having dinner for the remaining filming, but my body wouldn’t move. My ankle was throbbing too. I thought I should go to the hospital tomorrow.
As I spent time half-dozing, suddenly it was time for filming. Startled by the clock showing 7:55, I quickly got up. I pushed my phone deep into the drawer where I always kept it and hurriedly left the trailer. With each step, pain seemed to tear through my ankle. Still, I walked quickly without showing it.
As I went towards the set, I saw Mitchell’s staff. Mitchell, who had arrived at some point, was busy preparing for filming in the makeup room.
No contact… that jerk.
I glared at the makeup room where he was, then entered Logan’s house. As I sat on a creaky chair, the assistant director gestured for me to come over. He explained about the filming that was about to start. There was no room for distracting thoughts.
“Geon-woo, as I explained earlier, you need to kick the door with all your might. Until the doorknob shatters. We’ve set it up to fall off even with a slight touch, so kick around this area.”
As the assistant director demonstrated, I followed his lead.
“This side? Yes, I understand.”
When I switched legs because it was awkward to put weight on my injured foot, the assistant director shook his head.
“Could you possibly do it with the opposite leg? The camera will be coming from that direction. Your body is blocking too much.”
“Ah… Alright.”
After the assistant director left, I stood there blankly. Nothing was going right today. Really, not a single thing.
I couldn’t contact Mitchell all day, my ankle hurt, and now I had to strain that painful leg again. On top of that, on a day like this, I had to film a scene that stirred up Mitchell’s wounds. More precisely, it’s Logan’s wounds, not Mitchell’s. After learning about Mitchell’s family circumstances, the script felt different from before.
“Geon-woo.”
Mitchell, who had finished preparing, called out to me as he approached. There was no shadow in his bright expression, but now I even doubted his smile. Was he really smiling because he was happy?
“You’re here? I called you earlier, didn’t the secretary tell you?”
“That’s why I called you back. You didn’t answer.”
“Huh?”
I guess even a short nap counts as sleep, and I didn’t feel the vibration. Thinking I was late, I rushed and put the phone in the drawer without checking for missed calls. Anyway, Mitchell had tried to contact me. My mood, which had hit rock bottom, improved a little.
“Mitchell, could you come over here?”
The assistant director’s call interrupted our conversation again. We were busy aligning and coordinating our filming movements with Mitchell. From now on, there would be no time for personal conversations. We’d be surrounded by people until the moment filming ends. I have to wait again. I can wait.
After calmly organizing my thoughts, I recalled the script in my head.
This was the point where the conflict between Logan and Nathan really began. From the beginning, they didn’t get along well, often getting annoyed and clashing with each other, but it wasn’t to the level of hating each other.
But Nathan, misunderstanding that a colleague’s death was Logan’s fault, becomes angry and corners Logan. In the midst of this, Nathan’s slip of the tongue drives their relationship to the extreme. Even though it’s just a role, I didn’t like fighting and being at odds with Mitchell. Moreover, I hated having to act like this right now, at this very moment.
When I first encountered the “Mirror Match” script, I had no idea about Mitchell’s circumstances, so I begged him to do it together. If I had known there would be scenes like this that would dig into Mitchell’s wounds and make us confront each other, I would never have suggested it first.
Finally, the filming began.
“Have you ever thought it might be your fault?”
My lips trembled even after spitting out the line. Nathan, who was extremely angry, poured out words recklessly without filtering them.
“Don’t you know the saying that children always forgive their parents?”
It was advice not to cause trouble with a misguided heart. Although I was clearly speaking to Logan, it felt like I was cursing the real Mitchell. I had never done this before, but this time I couldn’t focus on the scene. Logan’s eyes were glaring at me as if they would tear me apart.
“Forgiveness? No matter what the parents do?”
“…”
“Even if I suffer any kind of abuse?”
“…”
My mouth wouldn’t open. Of course, I don’t have any lines after this. I just need to watch Mitchell have a fit. But with my mind turned blank, I felt cornered.
Logan’s eyes were filled with tears, glistening and at the same time turning red as if blood vessels had burst. His bitten lips were white. His deeply furrowed brow and trembling cheeks seemed overwhelmed, unable to contain such great emotion. It felt like Mitchell himself, not Logan, was suffering.
No matter how much it’s acting, no matter how much it’s a scripted scene. What if a moment comes when I have to receive such hatred from Mitchell? Could I live and breathe normally?
“Would killing you make it better?”
Logan said. At that moment, the man standing in front of me truly hated me.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
